Introducing...

Rocket, our class' shelf on the shelf! Rocket first came to my class last year, and I have been looking forward to his return this year. On Monday, his first day, we discovered him on top of our TV, and noticed he had brought snowflakes! He also wrote us a letter, and he said he thought everyone should have snow around Christmas, so that's why he brought some to us! He is not used to 80 degree days in December!

Then on Wednesday, he perched himself on top of the dry erase board. When we noticed him there, I told the kids I was a little nervous about his new spot because last year, he sat in that same spot and halfway through the day he fell, but his legs stayed put, so he ended up hanging upside down for the rest of the day! But, we think he learned from his accident, and that's why he was holding on to the flag pole. It worked, too, because this year he didn't fall - crisis averted!

That day, he also brought us a special mail box to use. Rocket likes to write letters to us, so he thought it would be useful to have this mailbox so that we could have a special and safe place to put our notes to each other. Now, the first thing the kids do when they get to school is look for Rocket and check the mailbox to see if he's left us anything special!

My students decided it would be a good idea to keep all his letters in one place so that way they wouldn't get lost (and so that they could go back and read them!), so I found a binder to use and now Rocket's letters are kept here, neat and tidy, just like the teacher likes! The portrait of Rocket was done by one of my students!

Then, on Thursday, the most exciting thing happened! Rocket brought a little Christmas tree to our class! There was no note on the tree, however, so at first, we didn't know if Rocket brought it or not. But, we've recently been learning about inferencing and how to draw conclusions, so my students determined that Rocket must have been the one who brought the tree because (a) I told the kids I didn't put it up, (b) Rocket was on the tree, and (c) he had told us in a previous letter that he would always leave something for us every day, be it a note or something else.

I am glad to have a shelf elf in my class because it makes the holiday season that much more fun and exciting. And, as it turns out, Rocket isn't just visiting our class to keep an eye on us - he told us in one of his letters that he wants to learn more about the 7 Habits from my students! Rocket takes his job as a shelf elf very seriously, and he told us that he would one day like to be a leader among shelf elves. He said he thinks learning about the 7 Habits could help him be a better leader, and this has motivated my students to use and model the habits more than they have been recently. So, my students are remembering to make good choices, and Rocket is learning from their example - it's a win-win!

I'll be back next week to share a few more holiday ideas and to give an update on what Rocket has done! Do you have a shelf elf in your classroom or at home? I'd love to hear stories of what your elves have done!